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Ghana to host inaugural Africa Skills Week
The African Union (AU) has selected Ghana to host the first-ever Africa Skills Week, a continental event dedicated to promoting skills development and job creation across Africa.
Scheduled for October 14-18, 2024, the event will take place at the Palm Convention Centre (La Palm Royal Beach Hotel) in Accra.
Organised by the African Union Commission’s Department of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation in collaboration with Ghana’s Ministry of Education, the event will be held under the theme “Skills and Jobs for the 21st Century: Quality Skills Development for Sustainable Employability in Africa.”
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The primary objective of the event is to equip Africa’s youth with relevant skills to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global economy while also fostering entrepreneurship, industrialisation, and economic resilience.
Additionally, Africa Skills Week seeks to raise awareness about the critical importance of skills development in enhancing employability and driving sustainable economic growth.
The event will serve as a platform for exchanging best practices, innovative approaches, and successful initiatives in skills development. Policymakers, industry leaders, educators, and youth from various African countries, as well as representatives from other regions, are expected to participate. The week-long activities aim to contribute to the AU’s broader agenda of building resilient education systems that offer inclusive, lifelong, and quality learning opportunities.
Six education ministers, 10 ministerial representatives from AU member states, and delegations from UNESCO, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and the Asia-Pacific region will participate in the event.
At the media launch, Dr. Fred Kyei Asamoah, Director-General of the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), highlighted Ghana’s selection as host, describing it as a testament to the country’s leadership in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) across the continent.
“Ghana’s hosting of this prestigious event underscores our commitment to TVET as a critical driver for national development. It also reaffirms the AU’s confidence in Ghana’s TVET ecosystem,” Dr. Asamoah said.
He further noted that Ghana has made significant investments in TVET, including the construction of modern centres, curriculum reforms, and capacity building for instructors.
These initiatives, such as the rollout of the competency-based training (CBT) system and the establishment of sector skills bodies (SSBs), aim to align TVET training with industry needs, ultimately addressing youth unemployment and promoting industrialisation and innovation.
“We see TVET as a key to not only combating youth unemployment but also boosting innovation and enhancing global competitiveness,” Dr. Asamoah added.
